TAMWORTH Council is bracing itself to lose around half of its staff in a 24 hour national strike tomorrow.

TAMWORTH Council is bracing itself to lose around half of its staff in a 24 hour national strike tomorrow.

Around 300 staff are members of Unison and are expected to down tools along with colleagues from around the country.

The union has called on all its members to take part in the day of industrial action, due to a dispute centred on the Local Government Pension Scheme.

David Weatherley, Council Chief Executive said: "At this stage it is difficult to predict how the strike will affect our services. But contingency plans are in place to ensure essential services will be available.

"We would ask that residents be patient with us and understand the circumstances during the 24 hours between midnight on 27 March and midnight on 28 March. Unless you have an urgent enquiry, please do not to contact the Council during this period."

He added a number of services including bin collection and emergency house repairs for council tenants were not expected to be disrupted.

A full list of affected services will be available and maintained on the council's website at www.tamworth.gov.uk

Lichfield City Council is expecting around 300 employee, who are Unison members to take part in the walk-out.

Gareth Davies, Unison Representative at the Council, said: "Peaceful picket lines are expected at most of the Council's offices and all council employees will be asked by Unison to support the strike and not come into work to protect their pensions.

Nina Dawes, Chief Executive of Lichfield District Council, said: "We are currently analysing the impact of next week's Local Government Pensions Strike on Lichfield District Council's services.

"It is likely that some waste collections, as well as front line services may be affected. Of course we won't know until the day exactly how many staff will choose not to come into work, but we will do all we can to limit the direct impact on our customers."

Cannock Chase Council is also anticipating its services will be affected.

A spokesman said residents due to have their bins emptied tomorrow should leave them out as normal, even if they are not collected.

He also warned leisure centres could be closed if there are not enough staff.

He said: "If the refuse is not collected, the bin should be left out and we will attempt to collect it as soon as possible."